Anatomy Of …. A Blog Post

Key Takeaways

• Blogging helps more customers find your business by adding fresh, search-friendly content that can improve your visibility in search results.
• Every blog post should include key elements like a compelling title, engaging introduction, organized body content, visuals, a strong conclusion, and a clear call to action.
• Write for both readers and search engines by using relevant keywords naturally, linking to related content, and optimizing your title tag and meta description.
• Make your content easy to read with descriptive headings, short paragraphs, simple language, and visuals that keep readers engaged.
• Always guide readers to the next step with a relevant CTA, whether that's requesting a quote, scheduling an appointment, or exploring more of your website.
• If you're short on time, Hibu can help by creating optimized blog content as part of a fully managed Organic Marketing strategy powered by Hibu One.

Writing blog posts is a great way to amp up the content on your website and give Google even more opportunities to show your business to potential customers. We know that nearly every single shopper does online research at least sometimes before purchasing, and 77% of internet users regularly read blogs.

But we know tackling that first blog post to get you started can be a little intimidating. So we’re breaking down all the parts of a blog post—like the title, intro, CTAs, and more—to help you get started.

[Related: Do Local Businesses Need to Blog?]

The parts of a blog post

Research tells us that companies with active blogs generate 67% more leads than those without, which means blogging remains the highest-ROI content marketing channel. So, the extra time it takes really is worth it for your business.

But once you familiarize yourself with each of a blog post’s parts and nail down the process, you’ll have a fully built-out blog strategy in no time.

Now, let’s look at each part individually:

1. The title or headline

This is the first element of the blog post a potential customer will see, both in the search results or on your website. So, it needs to be compelling enough to earn their click. 

Keep it clear, specific, and relevant to both your audience and the content of the post. Think about inviting a little curiosity, while also making sure the customer knows what they’re about to read about or what question they’re about to have answered. Also keep in mind that titles with positive sentiment have a 4.1% higher CTR than those with negative sentiment.

Including your primary keyword in your title can also help search engines understand your content. For example, if you're writing about roof repairs, a headline like 5 Signs Your Roof Needs Repair Before Winter is much more helpful than something vague like Roofing Tips.

2. The hero image

Your hero image can be either a photo or a designed graphic that goes near the top of your blog post.

Like the title, it serves to draw the reader in and gives some context as to what the blog post is about. You should also use this image while sharing your post on social media, as images generally catch someone’s eye more effectively than text alone.

3. The introduction

Now that your title and hero image have done their work of getting someone to click on your post, the introduction needs to convince them to keep reading. A great way to do that is by opening with a question, a common customer problem, or an interesting statistic that relates to your topic.

From there, you should let the reader know exactly what they'll learn by the end of the post. By setting it up this way, you keep the reader engaged and reassure them this is the content they’re looking for. 

4. Helpful, well-organized body content

Following your introduction comes the rest of your blog content, or the body of the piece. This is where you provide the value readers came for.

To keep your content easy to read and allow the reader to quickly find the information they’re looking for, break the content into clear sections with descriptive headings that follow a hierarchy. For example, if your title or header is the H1 of your piece, then the following sub-sections will be H2s, H3s, etc. Not only is this helpful for readers, but it’s also helpful for the search engines crawling your content.

The body of your post should focus on answering the questions your customers are already asking and offering practical advice they can use. Try using:

• Short paragraphs
• Bullet points when appropriate
• Simple language to make the post much easier to read—especially on mobile devices
   

In terms of length, 1,400 words is the length of an average blog post today. 

5. Visual elements

Sure, a blog post is all about the text, but big walls of it can feel a little overwhelming to readers, even when the information is helpful. So, adding a few relevant images, graphics, screenshots, or even videos can really help break up your content and make your post more engaging overall.

Visuals can also reinforce key points, demonstrate a process, or showcase your work, giving readers another reason to spend more time on your page.

6. Calls to action (CTAs)

Blog posts serve as a sort of introduction to your business. Someone will probably find your posts by searching online for a problem they have instead of directly going to your post. So, for that reason, each post should guide the reader toward a next step. The ultimate goal isn’t just to educate potential customers—it’s to turn them into real, paying customers. That’s where an effective call to action (CTA) comes in. 

Depending on your business, that next step might be contacting you, requesting a quote, scheduling an appointment, reading another blog post, or exploring one of your services. A clear, relevant CTA gives the reader an easy path forward.

7. SEO essentials

While making sure you’re providing helpful content is the foundation of a successful blog post, a few SEO best practices can help more people find it when they’re searching online. 

And that’s important, because the top organic search result receives a click-through rate that's 19 times higher than the top paid result, which just goes to show how valuable strong organic rankings can be for attracting visitors to your website.

Those SEO best practices include:

• Using your primary keyword naturally throughout the post
• Including links to other relevant pages and blogs on your site
• Optimizing your title tag and meta description

All of these will help your content better stand out in search results, which means a higher ranking and then more click-throughs to your site.

8. A strong conclusion

Rounding out your blog is the conclusion. These last paragraphs are your opportunity to reinforce the main points you’ve covered and leave the reader with something valuable to remember. You don’t need to completely summarize everything, though. Keep your closing concise by hitting briefly on the main takeaways without introducing new information.

Finally, you’ll want to finish with a clear CTA that encourages the reader to take the next step. This will depend on what you want them to do: continue exploring your website and other blog posts, contact your business via phone or email, or request a consultation. 

For example, “Ready to schedule your roof repair? Call us today at 1-800-roofrepair.”

[Related: 5 Things Customers Want to See on Your Local Business Website]

Partner with Hibu and we’ll handle the blog creation for you

An effective blog post doesn’t have to be complicated. By combining all the elements we’ve listed here, you’ll be able to create content that works for both your readers and your business.

But we also understand that even the simplest processes require time that you might not have as a small business owner. And that’s where Hibu comes in.

We’re here to take all the tasks that come with marketing your business online off your plate—including blog writing. Our Organic Marketing solution is a fully managed SEO service that’s powered by our Hibu One Platform, which means our experts work to get your business seen and chosen in both traditional and AI search results.

As part of a fully integrated marketing plan, you’ll get:

• Search-friendly page content on your website
• Schema markup and SSL security
• FAQs
• Blog posts
• High-quality backlinks
• Social posts on Google and Facebook

These all work together to help give your local business more visibility online.

Want to know more about how your business can benefit from an all-in-one digital marketing platform like Hibu One? Fill out the form for a free, no-obligation Hibu One demo or take a self-guided tour of the platform now.